Freedom: How We Lose It and How We Fight Back

by Nathan Law, Daniel York Loh (Read by), Evan Fowler (Contribution by)

Overview

A timely manifesto on freedom from Hong Kong’s leading pro-democracy activist Nathan Law, a Nobel Prize nominee

Activist Nathan Law experienced firsthand the speed with which our freedom can be taken away.

When sovereignty over Hong Kong was handed to China in 1997, Hong Kong was guaranteed freedom of the press, expression, and assembly. However, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been chipping away at these rights and, since 2014, restricting free and fair elections. Law writes, “When governments control access to information and are able to define the narrative and dictate what we know, we lose more than our freedoms. We lose the ability to see the world for what it is. We lose our humanity.”

In 2016, Law became the youngest-ever elected legislator in Hong Kong on a pro-democracy platform and was subsequently imprisoned for his role as a leader of the Umbrella Movement. He now lives in exile.

An urgent rallying cry, Freedom warns of the dangers of authoritarianism and inspires us to protect democracy and freedom—or face losing them forever.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798200893409
Publisher:	Blackstone Publishing
Publication date:	03/08/2022
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 5.70(h) x (d)

About the Author

Nathan Law is a pro-democracy activist and former legislator from Hong Kong, living in exile in London. A Nobel Peace Prize nominee and one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020, he is the author of the new book Freedom: How We Lose It and How We Fight Back.
 
Evan Fowler is a writer and researcher focusing on Hong Kong and China affairs.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Chapter 1 Freedom, Refuge and Hope 1

City of Migrants 3

Why China's Aggression Matters 7

From Refuge to Persecutor 19

Chapter 2 The Erosion of Freedom 27

The Hong Kong Story 27

Peeling Freedom Erode 38

My First 4 June Candlelight Vigil Experience 43

Freedom Measured in Opposition 49

A Free Press 51

Living without Freedom 60

Protecting Our Freedoms 64

Chapter 3 Resistance and Civil Society 69

Beginning My Activism 71

Organizing Class Boycotts 77

The Enemies of Dictators 80

Silence Kills 85

Taming Civil Society 90

When Political Prophecy Becomes Reality 93

Chapter 4 Rule by Law 99

Being Elected a Legislator 101

The Oath 109

Hong Kong's Fundamental Contradiction 114

Reclaiming Civic Square 116

Whom Does the Law Serve? 126

Looking Behind the Law 132

Chapter 5 Disinformation and Division 135

Divergent Paths 139

Society Torn Apart 144

State-Launched Smear Campaigns 152

Who Owns Truth? 156

Truth with 'Chinese Characteristics' 163

Betraying Our Values 170

Chapter 6 Believing in the Power of Change 177

Everything Is Fine, Until It Is Not 181

Fragile Democracies 187

Beyond Economic Coercion 190

Confronting Global Authoritarianism 201

Conscience, Activism and 'Be Water' 209

Being an Activist 214

No Action Is Meaningless 217

About the Authors 224

Editorial Reviews

British narrator Daniel Loh eloquently captures the sense of loss and frustration in this cri de coeur from former Hong Kong student activist and legislator Nathan Law. Loh’s well-modulated performance strikes the right balance between outraged indictment and the lasting feelings of loss of the now London-based leader. Hong Kong, while never free, was democratically run, open, and vibrant. The authoritarian rule of the Chinese has quashed democracy. This work is part anti-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) screed, part paean to democracy, and part nostalgic remembrance of the author’s pre-CCP life. Law has suffered for his apostasy. He led marches and was elected to public office as a critic of the new regime. He will more than likely never return home again. A.D.M. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2021 - AudioFile

"Nathan Law’s agonizing account of China’s ruthless takeover of Hong Kong provides a terrible insight into Beijing’s ambitions—the world needs to read this before other Pacific entities are swallowed up."

Jon Snow

"A heartfelt primer . . . the moderate and thoughtful Law is nothing like the radical agitator of Beijing’s imagination."

Financial Times

"An essential and timely read, warning policymakers, advocates and all people of the erosion to freedom happening before our eyes and equipping us to combat this challenge."

Speaker Nancy Pelosi

"2021 Foreword INDIES Gold Winner
Shortlisted for the Parliamentary Book Award Best Political Book

"We must all continue to speak up and stand up for Nathan Law and for those who fight for freedom in Hong Kong."

TIME Magazine

"The dismantling of Hong Kong has long been one of the most painful disasters in East Asia. . . . ‘How did Asia’s most liberal, open and cosmopolitan city . . . change so fundamentally?’ the activist Law asks in this philosophical memoir."

The New York Times

"In Freedom, Law describes how Beijing was able to subvert Hong Kong’s traditional freedoms and how the CCP uses doublespeak to rob democratic values and institutions of their true meaning."

Axios

"Law’s most significant personal act of political freedom may be the publication of the book itself. . . . [It] serves as a record of what his generation stood for—and what has happened to the people of Hong Kong—no matter which substitute version of history Beijing promulgates. . . . Freedom is a compelling read and an earnest reminder that those who live in democracies must remain active citizens to safeguard their own freedoms."

Foreign Policy

"With democratic ideals such as press freedom and the rule of law being increasingly eroded in nations including Hungary, Brazil and Turkey—and with election results still being called into question in the US—Law offers a warning and a wake-up call."

New Statesman

2021 Foreword INDIES Gold Winner
Shortlisted for the Parliamentary Book Award Best Political Book

“We must all continue to speak up and stand up for Nathan Law and for those who fight for freedom in Hong Kong.”—TIME magazine, “The 100 Most Influential People of 2020”

“The dismantling of Hong Kong has long been one of the most painful disasters in East Asia. . . . ‘How did Asia’s most liberal, open and cosmopolitan city […] change so fundamentally?’ the activist Law asks in this philosophical memoir.”—The New York Times

“A heartfelt primer . . . the moderate and thoughtful Law is nothing like the radical agitator of Beijing’s imagination.”—Financial Times

“Law’s most significant personal act of political freedom may be the publication of the book itself. . . . [It] serves as a record of what his generation stood for—and what has happened to the people of Hong Kong—no matter which substitute version of history Beijing promulgates. . . . Freedom is a compelling read and an earnest reminder that those who live in democracies must remain active citizens to safeguard their own freedoms.”—Foreign Policy

“In Freedom, Law describes how Beijing was able to subvert Hong Kong's traditional freedoms and how the CCP uses doublespeak to rob democratic values and institutions of their true meaning.”—Axios

“With democratic ideals such as press freedom and the rule of law being increasingly eroded in nations including Hungary, Brazil and Turkey – and with election results still being called into question in the US – Law offers a warning and a wake-up call.”—New Statesman

“An essential and timely read, warning policymakers, advocates and all people of the erosion to freedom happening before our eyes and equipping us to combat this challenge.”—Speaker Nancy Pelosi

“Nathan Law’s agonizing account of China’s ruthless takeover of Hong Kong provides a terrible insight into Beijing’s ambitions—the world needs to read this before other Pacific entities are swallowed up.”—Jon Snow, journalist 

From the Publisher